Month: September 2007

Yesterday morning i woke up full of energy. For the first time in a long time i was energetic, happy, and ambitious about the things i wanted to do that day. Hubby woke up earlier than me to go chop corn and i had the house to myself. I got up and started some laundry, ate breakfast, and got to work on house cleaning. I felt good. My awful cough and sinus problems were all cleared up. It was a beautiful day outside. BEAUTIFUL. Sunny, cool breeze, perfect.

A few hours into my day, hubby calls and asks me if i want to go around the field with him for a while. Sure, i said. That sounds like fun! So, off i went to find him in the fields. I haven’t chopped corn with him in a long time and was really enjoying myself when his cell phone rang. I answered it and it was his dad. Are you in trouble with your house? No, why? Are you sure? Ya! Well, tell (hubby) to call me later. Okay.

Apparently, hubby’s grandma saw the foreclosure notice in the newspaper and told his dad. Great. Just exactly what we were hoping wouldn’t happen. So, later in the day hubby stops over at his parents house and tries to explain the situation to them. Of course, he can’t explain everything and comes home to get me. Great.

For the next two hours i’m sitting at the kitchen table at the in-laws trying to explain how the evil mortgage company is trying to ruin our lives and how we’re trying to work with them and are in the process of modifying our loan. Hubby’s mom is crying and blubbering and his dad is silent. Just what every kid in America wants to be when they grow up. Sitting at the kitchen table in your late 20’s trying to explain to your parents that it’s not so bad, and how you’re trying to get your life back together. Having only W-2 jobs their whole life, they have no idea how hard it is to be self-employed and how banks and the government like to torture entrpreneurs. That took a long time to explain. After all the cards were laid on the table and they knew all of our shortcomings, i sort of felt relieved to have this big dark secret out in the open. It felt good to know that your family is there if you need them.

Well, if you think the story end there and we all live happily ever after, you better buckle up and hold on. After we came home and ate dinner, we started winding down for the evening. Hubby turned on the TV in the back room to sit down and relax for a few minutes, but the TV is acting up. It is very old, so it’s possible it might be dead. No TV, so he goes upstairs to work on the computer for a while. I stayed downstairs and was cleaning up the kitchen. All of a sudden, he’s screaming my name and says there’s a tow truck in the driveway. Bet you can guess what they’re there for. So, hubby comes racing downstairs and is putting his clothes on as fast as he can. He runs outside and finds out that they’re there to pick up the truck, but not the one in the driveway he’s already connected to. It’s in the barn, but hubby tells him it’s not here. Driver checks the VIN and leaves. Holy tomolly, that was a close one.

After this episode, i finally break down. I haven’t cried or gotten too emotional up to this point. Last night i lost it. I can’t take it anymore. Last year at this time i thought we had reached rock bottom. That is when we started InCharge and started getting our finances on track. Or so we thought. Somehow, we’ve managed to grab a shovel at ground zero. What’s next in this little adventure we call life?

Last night i worked at the bowling alley again. You know, at first i thought i would dread having this job. I wouldn’t be home to get my chores done (laundry, dinner, cleaning, etc). I wouldn’t be available to do other things (shopping, dinner, friends, etc). Plus i was only seeking additional work to help pay the bills. Nobody wants to work if they have to. But you know what, i really like this job. For 3 hours a night i get to escape my home phone ringing, i’m not laying around the house lazily, and i get to get out and socialize. The job itself is mindless. All i have to do is take an order, make the food, and serve it. There are no deadlines, micromanaging upper crust management, e-mail demands, intellectually challanged employees, or reports.

For a few hours a night, i get to work freely – without responsibilities and headaches. Plus, i’m getting paid cash so i don’t even have to deal with any paperwork. I love it!

I’ve recently picked up a second job making and serving food at our local bowling alley. It’s only 3ish nights a week, and i think i’ll bring home about an extra $100/week in pay and tips. Although it may not sound like a lot, i plan to put every penny toward our credit card debt. I want this credit card out of my life! The sooner the better. It’s driving me insane!!!

With everything else going on, I almost forgot about my puppy. She was hit by a car Thursday morning. In our driveway.

One of the girls that works for us pulled in the driveway Friday morning and was turning to park when my puppy somehow managed to get under her front wheel. Fortunately, she’ll be okay. He front leg is broken in several places and she has a dislocated foot. The vet put a splint and a soft cast on her leg and we brought her home that afternoon. At first she wouldn’t move at all and we had to carry her outside to go to the bathroom. But now she is running around on all three’s like nothing is wrong. Of course, she is soaking up all the extra attention and loving it. We tried to sign her cast, but it’s still a little too tender for anyone to get near.

So i go home from work yesterday and in the mail is the partial payment i had sent to the mortgage company 3 weeks ago. Calling our mortgage company is an endless nightmare of circling menus, but i did it anyway. After finally getting a hold of someone in the loss mitigation department and then being passed on to a few more people, i was finally able to talk to “Tom”, a surprisingly calm and polite man who actually listened when i talked. Why did we receive a foreclosure notice? We submitted hardship paperwork for a loan modification over a month ago. Don’t worry he says. You received a forclosure notice because you can be up to 3 months late, but not four. Once you hit 4 months they automatically send you to forclosure. He says we can work out a payment plan to help us get back on track, but you need at least one month’s payment to get that ball rolling. In the meantime, they are still processing our paperwork for a loan modification. Keep saving up money, he says, and call back when you can make a sizeable payment.

I’m not sure if it was the calming tone of his voice or the advice he gave me, but after i hung up the phone i felt much better about our situation. I just keep telling myself that they truly do not want my house. They are better off in the long run modifying our loan with a lower interest rate that will make the monthly payments affordable for us. Seriously, who can afford 11.45%? The loan started out at 8.45% which is still high, but our penalty for being entrepreneurs.

Maybe when this is all history and we are living comfortably again (and not moment to moment) i can write a book or publish an article helping the self-employed people of America. This country was founded by individuals who were innovative and had the entrepreneurial spirit. Somewhere along the way, we became a country of robots working for the man. Those who wish to seek out their own path are penalized with double taxation, higher interest rates, and even the self-help books deal strictly with debtors and savers who earn a paycheck from an employer. The envelope system, direct deposit saving, 401K’s, and HSA’s are all great, but doesn’t help me in the least. I have a very small network of friends who are self-employed and dealing with many of the same issues as i am. They do offer a lot of helpful advice, but they’re not financial advisors or law makers. i need real help!

Well, just when i start to think that things are finally looking up, i get a letter from the mortgage company. They have started forclosure paperwork on our house. F*!K. Panic mode has officially set in. I absolutely positively cannot lose my house. We cannot sell it either. I need an answer – and quick.

This kind of makes me mad (other than the obvious) because i contacted them over a month ago about doing a “loan modification” on our current mortgage. They said don’t worry, we don’t want your house. send us this stuff and we’ll get back with you. Well, that got back with me in the form of a forclosure letter. What’s up with that?

I don’t know what to do. I’m kind of frozen in time, but time hasn’t stopped. I need to unfreeze and take action. What action, i don’t know. i need help. HELP!!!

I hate shopping. Especially grocery shopping. I don’t know why really, i just do. I hate spending money, sure, but i just think it’s asenine to spend $50-$100 week on stuff that is consumed and flushed. Buying food is like flushing your money down the toilet. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil. You have to eat eventually.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, a co-worker of mine got me hooked on “The grocery game”. A woman has a home business where she scans the local sales ads and coupons that come in Sunday’s paper and created a database to keep track of when the best deals are. This weekend i went shopping with my carefully clipped coupons and “grocery game” list. Makeup was on sale at our grocery store for 50% off, plus i had a $1 coupon. So, i ended up getting a tube of mascara for $2.65 (regular price $7.30). That’s 74% off!!! And it was my favorite brand, not some cheap crap. Then, Crest toothpaste was on sale 10/$10, or $1 each for those mathmatically challenged. Well, i had a coupon for $1 off, so it was FREE!!!!

I still hate shopping, but it has become a lot funner knowing that i can save tons of cash if i play the game right. It might even be possible to say i got a little excited when i got home and scanned my receipt. Some stuff i may not use right away, but am happy to stash it away for winter when money is really tight.